This invention relates to a microwave coffee brewing appliance which is adapted to be positioned within the cavity of a microwave oven which will brew coffee by the drip-type method in an extremely short time in comparison to conventional methods of coffee brewing.
Microwave coffee makers have been structured in the past for making coffee by other methods, such as shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,601,067 to P. L. Spencer. For example, the process described in the Spencer patent is a percolation process which involves extracting or dissolving of constituents from coffee beans by boiling water. This is called decoction. Drip-type methods for making coffee involve the infusion process which is that whereby soluble constituents of coffee beans are extracted or dissolved into hot but not boiling water.
Because percolation includes some extraction at decoction temperatures and also includes recycling of already brewed coffee over the grounds, over-extraction usually results. This means that certain bitter constituents then become dissolved into the brewed liquor.
It is believed that since drip-type coffe is made by passing hot water only once over the coffee beans, an improved taste or quality is produced, which explains the spectacular growth of the automatic drip coffee maker.
The only other known way of using economical microwave heating for making coffee has been to boil water in a microwave oven and then insert instant coffee into the water. This is generally believed to make inferior coffee.